proud of me!

I have officially joined the ranks of Martha Stewart, Betty Crocker and Wolfgang Puck! Yes, I am one of the greatest cooks in the world because I declare myself so today.
Why am I so proud of myself today you might ask? Well I baked two loaves of bread today and they were great!!! Me!! Baked bread!! Isn't that great? I mean how many people can say that they baked their own bread, in their own oven, in their own kitchen besides the most famous cooks in the world? Okay and maybe a half a million other people.
Anyway, you can stop rolling your eyes at me now. I am just proud of my kitchen conquest today that's all. Gosh! I have turned into such a domesticated creature and am definitely something to behold. hehehehe :)
Everyone is welcome to come and sample some of this wonderful bread fit for a king and queen! And keep checking into your local bookstore, as my new cookbook will be hitting the shelves soon (wishful thinking).
It's alright, give me a pat on the back. I am welcoming all the feathers that I can add to my hat!

Daddy's girl

I've always wondered what it is about men and their daughters. The saying daddy's girl is supported by countless examples and i must say that hubby and Safiya definitely support it.
As I sit here typing, he is taking out the braids that I put in her hair. When I need help with my hair, he looks at me as if I am insane, but without any prompting, he is more than willing to take the braids out of his daughter's hair! What is up with that? I think my baby girl has stolen my husband!!!! aaaaahh! and to think that another daughter is on the way. What is going to happen to me? I will be totally abandoned by my man. ha ha.
Anyway, it is great when a man will do anything for his little girl including her hair :) That's love.

Going green.

No, I am not envious of anyone, I am talking about the green environmental revolution. All of a sudden, every TV show is encouraging us to live green.
Don't drive, take the bus so that there will be less pollution.
Use paper bags or reusable bags at the grocery store not the plastic non biodegradable ones.
I can do all that, but the most difficult while living in America is to buy and eat organic foods!!! Is it really possible to eat organic grown foods in this country where all the peppers and tomatoes are so genetically engineered and coated with preservatives till they look like plastic and you might get cancer just from looking at them too long? Honestly after moving here I found new reasons to pray before I eat my meals. My prayers go something like this,
"Dear Lord, as I eat this chemically polluted food please keep my cells benign and may my beef taste like it actually came from a cow. Amen"

Seriously though, I can cook beef in 15 minutes and chicken in ten minutes! And did I mention that the chicken parts are huge?! There is no way those thighs and drumsticks came from a real chicken. I miss the taste of those free range chickens in Africa. You know the ones you get when you go to the village to visit your relatives and for some reason everyone feels like they need to give you a live chicken from their yard as a present? But man those birds tasted good. I am salivating just thinking about them. yummy yummy yummy!

My other problem with the food here is that genetically engineered food is much cheaper than the healthier and tastier naturally farm grown alternative. So what incentive does that give struggling young families like ours to eat healthier options when we are trying to save our pennies? It really is frustrating. If I lived in a house with a big yard, maybe i could just turn my backyard into a little farm and grow fruits and veggies that do not have potentially dangerous chemicals in them.

But on a more serious note though, God put us here as stewards of creation and it is our duty to keep our world clean by not polluting it with unnecessary gas emissions and trash. If we don't, where will our children live?

Update

So today we are all sick :( Isn't that terrible?? Safiya was running a fever of 103 throughout yesterday and all night. It finally broke thank God but she is still not a happy camper. Hubby is most recovered so he is the one taking care of all of us right now because I am here coughing my guts out.
Pray for us. May God heal us all.

Sick Day

It's a sad rainy day. Today is our marriage anniversary and everyone besides me is sick! Isn't that sad?
Both hubby and baby have the flu. Keep them in your prayers please and pray that I do not catch it too :) I am the primary caretaker of both of them as well as the baby in vitro right now so I need to stay well.

I sing in the choir in church. Coincidentally, choir was canceled for today so at least I did not have to miss it due to illness :)

Mama Africa!

My father sent this to me and I thought it would be nice to share.
Africa needs people to stand and fight for her honour and that is why I pray God can use me and many others to fulfill His will for our beautiful continent!


2007 Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellows

February 10, 2008


AN OPEN LETTER TO AFRICA'S PRESENT AND FUTURE LEADERS

“This continent has suffered too much.… We need the assistance and commitment of … young leaders to
continue to speak up on behalf of the poor and the marginalized, and seek a better life for all”
– Archbishop Desmond Tutu, April 2007

From Angola to Zimbabwe, questions abound about Africa’s present state. All capitals listed
between Abidjan to Zanzibar, are not new to the rising voices of Africa’s sons and daughters
who wish to know the fate of their land. Some express this concern through silent hope, others
through evident fear, and many others look in no other direction than that of their leaders –
those we have come to know as the captains of the ship of the state. Others even argue that
Africa’s answers remain with future leaders, and not today’s. But there has been a crisis of
leadership in Africa. The hopes and dreams of the citizens of this continent have been dashed by
our post colonial leaders – from the heroes of the liberation struggles through to the leaders of
opposition parties that subsequently emerged.

The citizens of Africa deserve a brighter future, and that begins with visionary leaders who can
answer the challenges that Africa faces as part of a global community in the 21st century. Recent
events across the continent are cause for serious concern: from the crisis of corruption in
Nigeria, the political tensions in South Africa leading to the 2009 election, or the political crisis
in Kenya which is turning a once prosperous country into one that is marred by bloodshed and
ethnic tensions. The ongoing conflict in Sudan, the current crisis in Chad, or the socio-political
and economic meltdown obtaining in Zimbabwe have all caused great instability in the lives of
millions of Africans across the continent.

We do not seek to play the usual game of just listing the problems but join our voices to that of
over 920 million Africans to demand fair play in political processes. Though all of our
democracies are young we expect our leaders to be men and women of excellence who respect
the electoral process and as such the wishes of the people. As young people in Africa who are
leaders in politics, business, health and information technology, we stand together and recommit
ourselves to the ideals of true leadership, and we make the following recommendations:

(a) The establishment of a high-level African Union led campaign to fight tribalism and
inequality in all its forms across the continent. Each country should establish a Commission
Against Tribalism and Inequality (CATI) to fight the scourges, and to protect vulnerable
minority groups. CATI should bring politicians using ethnic manipulations to perpetrate
violence to justice and stop them from participating in future political contests;

(b) Political leaders must be servant leaders and use their power and influence as a tool for
socio-economic change rather than oppression and fuelling personal greed;

(c) The establishment and strengthening of relevant institutions (judiciary, electoral
commissions, etc) that ensure independence of the Electoral Regulatory Authorities in each
country; and the establishment of an AU Electoral monitoring body which monitors
election and has a clear, well defined set of guidelines which it uses to determine if the
process is free or fair;

(d) The rediscovery of our true identity as Africans, to embrace and inculcate the moral
base of honesty, love, peace and integrity. We believe that people of integrity would not
allow a beautiful, socially and economically stable country like Kenya to collapse into
political disarray;

(e) The strengthening of our national economies, and systems to ensure the provision of
adequate health care, education and other social services that will equip all Africans to
partake in a better future.

As young leaders in our own various spheres of influence, we as the 2007 Archbishop Desmond
Tutu Leadership Fellows1 find silence at this critical moment inconvenient. We believe that
silence and inaction in the face of yesterday’s challenges are responsible for the anomalies we
see across the continent today. We lend our voices to the call for African leaders – today, and in
the future – to consider the common good over personal fears or greed. We are proud of those
who have shown us that leadership is about service and call on all other leaders to remain true to
the spirit of purposeful leadership.

Signed: 2007 Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellows [Brilliant Mhlanga (Zimbabwe), Dan Kidega (Uganda),
Ed Mabaya (Zimbabwe), Erik Charas (Mozambique), ‘Gbenga Sesan (Nigeria), Grace Ofem (Nigeria),
Hassan Usman (Nigeria), Herine Otieno (Kenya), Ipeleng Mkhari (South Africa), Lisa Kropman (South
Africa), Mezuo Nwuneli (Nigeria), Niven Postma (South Africa), Saida Ali (Kenya), Takalani Musekwa
(South Africa), Tariro Makadzange (Zimbabwe), Terence Sibiya (South Africa), Tracey Webster (South
Africa), Yohannes Mezgebe (Ethiopia), Yolan Friedmann (South Africa)]



1 Each year, 20 high potential individuals from across sub-Saharan Africa are awarded the prestigious Archbishop
Tutu Leadership Fellowship, following a rigorous competitive selection process. The Awards are aimed at the cream
of the continent’s future leaders, specifically targeting the next generation of Africa’s leaders in all sectors of society,
between the ages of 25 and 39. The fellowship program is coordinated by African Leadership Institute, and it
includes a training program coordinated by the SAID Business School at Oxford University. For more information
about the Fellowship, please visit www.alinstitute.org.

Spreading the love!!!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Well it is 11:37pm by my clock so the day is almost over but I figured I could get this post in before the day is officially over.
By the way, hubby got me flowers!!! Wasn't that sweet of him? Yes, I thought so too. I was delighted and I can say that I had a good day. I even took a picture of my bouquet to immortalize them :)
Hubby is sick today though with a bad cold :( Hope he gets well soon.

Who came up with Valentine's Day anyway? The day of love huh? Well everyday should be a day for love (and I am not suggesting that I should get flowers everyday although I would not mind). wink wink.
I am reminded today that God is love and that love is eternal because God is eternal! So Happy day of God everyone.
hugs

Muzika!

The other day, I was on YouTube feeding my YouTube addiction when I came across this Jeremiah Gyang video. I love his music, great voice and lots of talent. Anyway, there is this one song that he sings in his language and I never knew there was a video for it. The nice thing is that it has subtitles so I finally know what the song means!
love it. Enjoy.

Candid photo

This is an old picture taken about a year ago of Safiya and Olivia. Olivia's grandma, Louise used to babysit them on Mondays and was the one who took the picture.
I love it because they look so deep in conversation. It's pretty comical!

Just another day.

So my baby girl still has a runny nose :( She is sleeping well at night though so I guess I really should not be complaining. I just want her to be completely better. At least she does not have the flu which has been making its rounds throughout Cincinnati.

I received a really cool tip the other day about what to do for cough and colds. Rub Vicks on your feet!! Sounds pretty crazy huh? Guess what though? I tried it and it worked!! I rubbed the Vicks on her chest and back like I usually do when she has a cold, then I massaged some into her feet as well. She slept soundly like babies are supposed to. Hope the tip can help you too someday :)

The child is growing!

Getting ready for baby number two has been a slow process. Luckily, I do not have to buy very many clothes since I am having another girl and I kept quite a few of Safiya's clothes. One of these days I really need to get them all out and launder them so they will be fresh and clean for the new arrival.

The other night I had a dream that I had the baby at home in the tub!! Not good. I told hubby about the dream and he was not too amused. I guess we need to put clean towels aside and disinfect the scissors just in case. ha ha. That will be quite the adventure I am sure.

Well we finally got another bed for Safiya so the crib can go to her little sister when she is born. I think I was more excited about the bed than she was!! My little baby is growing so fast. I miss my tiny little Safi! Anyway, after we assembled the bed and rearranged the room that the girl's will be sharing, we just needed to keep our fingers crossed and hope that Safiya would actually sleep in the bed. She has had somewhat of a runny nose and cough lately so she has not been sleeping very well to begin with. I am proud to announce that she spent half the night in her own new bed!! The other half she spent in our bed which was not comfortable at all. She must have been an octupus or something in another life because when she is in bed with us, it is almost like she has 8 limbs flailing wildly about while she sleeps. The result in the morning is two tired, grumpy and sometimes bruised adults and one happy, over energetic toddler. Not a good match!

Hopefully when she is fully recovered, we can have our bed and our injury-free sleep back!

My good friend Maggie was here over the weekend. It was really nice to see her again. I just had to add a picture of the beautiful mug that she gave me that was filled with heart shaped chocolates. Sorry I can't share the chocolate with anyone, because we pregnant women do not share chocolate with others as a rule :)

Dreams

One day I closed my eyes and dared to dream. I had dreams of a better tomorrow, of a life free from sorrow. I dreamed of freedom from my limitations and of achieving all my aspirations. I dreamed of a future so bright and dreamed throughout the dark night.

Somehow my desire to see those dreams become a reality brought me to a foreign land, far from my family, far from my home. A land where I was in danger of losing my identity and maybe even my soul. Could it be that my dreams were slowly turning into nightmares? Because all of a sudden they were no longer making sense. At times I felt like I was aboard a promising ship but one that was destined to sink like the Titanic. And just like the Titanic, the band kept playing as though nothing was wrong. There were icebergs in my sea, closing in around me, threatening to sink me into an icy cold grave of despair and defeat.

I kept pinching myself and wishing away such a terrible end to my envisioned fairy tale. When was I going to get to the "happily ever after" part? But I could not wake up because it was not a dream, it was my reality.

So I sat down on the floor, drew my knees to my chest with my arms wrapped tightly around my legs. I began to rock back and forth and prayed to a Higher power, the only One who could save me. Eventually, I fell asleep, curled up in the fetal position as though making myself as tiny as possible so that no one would notice I was there. Maybe then, no evil could come to harm me. As I slept, I began to dream again.

I dreamed of dusty roads and rusty automobiles. I felt the hot sun and the aroma of grilled meats floated gently up my nostrils. I heard different languages most of which I could recognise but not all could I understand. I saw faces, all different shades of brown with a random face of a much lighter colour scattered here and there. I was at peace, I was happy, I was home.

Then I awoke. I am still a stranger in a foreign land and my travels have taught me much a greatly enriched my life. Still I am dreaming, and on the wings of these dreams I will fly to where I belong - my home.

Just another day

Wow! The temperature was up to 63 degrees Farenheit today in Cincinnati, which is 17 degrees Celcius to the rest of the world. Hard to believe it got that warm. But I was not able to go out and enjoy it because it rained all day. Bummer!
The fact that I began this entry with talk about the weather should let you know that I really do not have much to talk about :)

Well I did get a phone call from my darling mother this morning. That was really nice. Funny thing is that I was dreaming that I was in Nigeria when the phone rang. I must be pyschic. Always knew there was something special about me. ha ha. It's okay, go ahead and roll your eyes at me. You see? I really do have ESP!

Yes, so it has just been one of those days for me. I was scheduled to do some serious cleaning around the house today but the spirit was willing and the flesh was weak. Hopefully, the spirit and the flesh will both be willing tomorrow to get some grime out of the floors and the dust out of the rugs. No, my residence is not filled with dust and grime before you begin to call the sanitation department to my house. It's just that my dear daughter takes pleasure is creating chaos out of order and yours truly is left to pick it all up. That is not an easy task with a huge belly, believe me!

Can't wait to pop this baby out in April so I can get my body back!! It's great that women are so willing to rent out their bodies to those cute little parasites also known as babies. At least I have an excuse for eating lots and lots of food. Gosh, just talking about food is causing me to get hungry all over again! So help me God. Laterzzzz. Gotta go grab a bite.

Nappy hair and crazy suggestions.

So a couple of months ago, I decided to chop all my hair off! Yikes. I know. The thing is, I decided that I wanted to grow my hair back naturally without chemical alteration. Too few black women embrace what people call our nappy stubborn hair. But I believe that it can be managed and can be beautiful without being chemically altered and I wanted to give it a try.

Well the result of that experiment is the cute little afro that I have been rocking lately. Takes a lot of confidence to pull that one off I tell you. Every now and then when I can find the time, I braid it myself though (a very time consuming and tiring process with hair like mine). But I am proud of myself and I know it will be a while before I can put this hair in a ponytail. So for now I am chugging along and hoping that the hair is willing to come on this challenging and exciting journey with me.

Anyway, I was in the checkout line at the store yesterday with the rest of my little family. Safiya is always very restless by the time that we get to the checkout line, but she was not too terrible today. So, I was talking to Musa my husband and our accents make it quite obvious that we are foreigners in this crazy country. Well the woman behind me who was also black asks, "Are you African?" to which I replied, "yes". The next question to come out or her mouth is, "Why don't you put a perm in your daughter's hair? She would look so much prettier", like it has something to do with the fact that I am African. I wish I had the courage to say, "Lady, you have got to be out of your d*mn mind! Who is the irresponsible individual who puts a perm in a baby's hair? And my baby girl is very beautiful just the way she is, thank you very much!" But I am not that brave so I just said, "No I am not going to put a perm in her hair." And that was the end of the discussion.
Can't the woman see that even I do not have a perm relaxer in my hair? I was appalled that she would suggest that I put a chemical relaxer in my 1 1/2 year old daughter's hair when I am still washing it with Johnson's baby shampoo! I admit it is not easy to get this little one to sit still so I can do her hair and her thick curly hair has already broken two combs of mine! Still, I will not be crazy enough to put a perm in a little child's hair.
Goodness gracious! The kind of people I meet in this crazy city.

It would be nice if Mrs. Crazy from the checkout line comes across this blog so she can see what answer I really wanted to give her. Rubbish!

Help! I am turning into my mother!!

Don't get me wrong it is not a bad thing, it is just a strange thing. This is probably a common process for most women but it does not make it any less scary.

For example, when we were out and about the other day, I noticed that there was some dried up food on my daughter's face that I must have missed before we left home. So what do I do? The most logical thing of course - lick your finger and use the saliva to wipe the spot of her face. Yikes! Definitely something that my mother would do, and in public no less. So there is proof that I am turning into my mother slowly but surely.

There are other little mannerisms that I have inherited from my mother that she probably inherited from her own mother, so the gift must be passed on. My poor daughters, heaven help them for they are descendents of goofy women.

Motherhood is definitely an interesting role and full of adventures. Now that I am a mother, I must say that I respect my own mum a million times more. If she ever reads this blog, "I love you Mummy! Hugs and Kisses and thank you for the sacrifices that you made for me".

But anyway, I remember several times when my daughter was ill and throwing up, I would turn her toward me so that she would puke on me rather than on my new couch! ha ha. Perfectly logical of course to let a child vomit all over you to save your couch and carpet. It should be called motherhood mania :) Seriously though, I can always take my clothes off and throw them in the washing machine then jump into the shower. However, I cannot take my couch and throw it in the machine can I?

Also, times without number I have caught myself picking my daughter's nose for her when I see dried up boogers in there. Funny because her dad does it too sometimes. Oh the selfless things we do for our children!

I think for the first time, I understand what is meant by unconditional love. If God sees us as children, I now understand even more why Jesus died for us on a cross. Such love is so powerful, so selfless, truly unconditional.